Wednesday, March 14, 2001

I just read the letters in response to one of my classmates, Kerry FitzPatrick's letters. Although I see both sides of the issue, I totally agree with Kerry. I rode the bus all throughout my middle school and freshman years, and now that I am a junior and have a car I feel that I have earned the privilege of not having to take the bus. My classmates and I should not have to plan our schedules around if kids are too lazy or spoiled and get Mommy or Daddy to drive them to school.

I agree that we will have to plan according to the weather in the "real world," but then again so will the poor little children who can't stand to be in the rain. Will their parents drive them to their jobs when they're adults, too? If mature for us means getting up earlier in response to weather and traffic conditions, maybe kids should learn to deal with "real world" situations by standing under an umbrella for five minutes. Many of us rode the bus in rain and sunshine why should these students get driven on such days?

Some argue that if we don't like the congestion, we should take the bus and arrive on time. What a ridiculous statement! If everyone rode the bus, the buses would fill up in about one-quarter the time that they currently do. Buses are always crowded, regardless of the number of kids being chauffeured to school. If children don't like the bus because it's too crowded or noisy, that's understandable. But the solution is using funds for more buses, not making traffic worse with daily rides to school.

What angers me most about this whole topic is not whether children should ride the bus or not, but that "adults" are making asinine statements in defense of themselves and their kids. It's totally irrelevant to the issue if parents pull up to the curb at McIntosh, and the man who is criticizing Kerry is complaining in the same manner as she! There must be a workable solution maybe high school students can carpool or ride the bus if they don't have cars, and middle schoolers can ride the bus or, if they must, carpool.

Jen Gaynor

Starr's Mill High School

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